Retirees who were among the nearly 2,800 people arrested for supporting Palestine Action since the group was proscribed have welcomed the High Court's decision to overturn the ban. The ruling, issued on Friday by three senior judges, declared the proscription unlawful on two grounds: it breached human rights laws and the Home Secretary's own policy on proscription. The government has announced it will appeal the judgment.
Chris Romberg, a former army colonel and ex-military attaché arrested in August 2024, said he felt 'pleased and satisfied that this proscription, which we knew was illegitimate, has now been shown to be unlawful as well.' He is among thousands who face potential trials under terrorism laws, with many remaining in legal limbo pending the appeal. The Metropolitan Police stated that officers would cease arresting people for expressing support for Palestine Action but would continue gathering evidence at protests.
Trisha Fine, arrested in Cardiff and held for 27 hours without her husband being informed, described the ruling as 'good news, but with big reservations.' She noted that many friends assumed the legal battle was over, but 'it seems like our jolly government has got all the cards in their hands.' Richard Whitmore-Jones, arrested at a silent vigil in Parliament Square last August, expressed caution despite initial elation. 'Obviously yesterday was such a good day, we were all ecstatic that the proscription ban was overturned, but I think today I’m feeling a little bit more circumspect about what might happen in future with the appeal,' he said.
Father John McGowan, a Catholic priest arrested at the same protest, voiced anger at the government's intention to appeal. 'They do not seem to understand the anger of probably the majority of British people at them for supporting Israel,' he said, adding that the government was 'on the wrong side of history.' Romberg, a member of Holocaust Survivors and Descendants against the Gaza Genocide, criticised the government's credibility, saying it had 'given up on its values, on its liberties, on rights.' He welcomed that 'lots of talk about secret evidence that would definitely prove that [Palestine Action] should be banned has not convinced the judges.'
Whitmore-Jones also criticised the cost to the public purse, calling the continued arrests 'a disgraceful waste of money.' All those with outstanding charges or open police investigations remain in a state of uncertainty while the appeal process unfolds. The High Court has yet to issue an order formally removing the proscription, with Dame Victoria Sharp set to hear further arguments before doing so.
